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Australia's home affairs minister tests positive for COVID-19

Australia's Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice Washington, DC. on March 5, 2020. AFPA senior Australian politician tested positive for the new coronavirus and entered hospital quarantine on Friday, days after returning from a meeting in Washington attended by US Attorney General William Barr."This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat," said Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, an influential member of the government and a key architect of Australia's controversial immigration laws."It is the policy of Queensland Health that anyone who tests positive is to be admitted into hospital and I have complied with their advice."Dutton said he feels "fine" but his diagnosis will raise concerns about whether other members of the cabinet and Prime Minister Scott Morrison may have been infected.It is not yet known when Dutton contracted the virus.He recently returned from the United States.Dutton was in Washington a week ago for a meeting with members of the FiveEyes intelligence alliance -- Australia, the United Sta

Mar 13, 2020
Australia's home affairs minister tests positive for COVID-19

Trump issues first call for postponing Olympics

A couple walk past a countdown clock for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Thursday, March 12, 2020, in Tokyo. The Tokyo Olympics are being threatened by the spreading coronavirus. APUS President Donald Trump came out Thursday as the first foreign leader to suggest delaying the Tokyo Olympics because of coronavirus, dropping a bombshell on his "good friend" Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe."Maybe they postpone it for a year," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, 19 weeks before the opening ceremony in Tokyo's Olympic Stadium.With that, Trump threw cold water on the 2020 Games the same day as actresses dressed as ancient Greek priestesses held the ceremonial flame lighting at a ruined temple in the original Olympia, Greece.It was all the more surprising given Trump's repeated declarations of close friendship with Abe and his reluctance previously to give advice on the situation.Trump said that another alternative ― holding competitions in empty stadiums ― would be even worse than forcing a delay."I would say maybe they postpone it for a year," he said."You know, I like that better than I

Mar 13, 2020
Trump issues first call for postponing Olympics

Canadian PM Trudeau's wife tests positive for COVID-19

In this file photo taken on June 08, 2018, Canada's Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau arrive for a welcome ceremony for G7 leaders on the first day of the summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada. Trudeau's office says the first lady has tested positive for COVID-19. AFPCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office announced Thursday night.It said Sophie Gregoire Trudeau was felling well and would remain in isolation.``The Prime Minister is in good health with no symptoms. As a precautionary measure and following the advice of doctors, he will be in isolation for a planned period of 14 days,`` the statement added.His office said the doctor's advice to the prime minister is to continue daily activities while self-monitoring, given that he is exhibiting no symptoms himself. ``Also on the advice of doctors, he will not be tested at this stage since he has no symptoms. For the same reason, doctors say there is no risk to those who have been in contact with him recently,'' the statement said. Th

Mar 13, 2020
Canadian PM Trudeau's wife tests positive for COVID-19

Virus cases continue to increase in Seoul, but growth slows

A man wearing a face mask walks across a pedestrian crosswalk in the rain in Seoul, Korea, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. APWhile new coronavirus cases in Seoul continued to increase Friday, the speed of transmission slowed from earlier in the week, easing fears over a possible mass transmission in the metropolis.South Korea reported 110 new COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total to 7,979, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.In Seoul, where a group transmission at a call center had spawned concerns, 13 more cases were reported, raising the total to 225 as of Thursday midnight, according to the KCDC data.The increase marks a sharp slowdown from Wednesday, when 52 new cases were reported in the capital following a group infection among call center employees working in the southwestern neighborhood of Sindorim. It is also smaller than the 19 new cases reported Thursday. (Yonhap)

Mar 13, 2020
Virus cases continue to increase in Seoul, but growth slows

Korea steps up efforts against cluster virus infections amid slowing new cases

A man wearing a protective face mask walks along the Han river in Seoul, Thursday, March 12, 2020. APSouth Korea saw another decline in its daily new infections Friday, as massive testings in the southeastern city of Daegu, the epicenter of the new coronavirus here, were nearing an end, but health authorities were ramping up measures to contain cluster infections across the nation.The 110 new cases of the coronavirus, which were detected Thursday and marked the lowest number of daily infections in more than two weeks, brought the nation's total infections to 7,979. Thursday's additional cases, which followed the 114 new cases detected Wednesday, were also far below the daily increases of 500 or more last week.So far, 67 people, mostly elderly patients with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the respiratory virus that emerged in China late last year, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.About 61 percent of confirmed cases have been linked to a branch of the Shincheonji religious sect in Daegu, which is the country's fourth-largest city with

Mar 13, 2020
Korea steps up efforts against cluster virus infections amid slowing new cases

Gov't preparing to declare virus-stricken Daegu a special disaster zone: PM

Medical staff in protective gear work at a 'drive-thru' testing center for the novel coronavirus disease of COVID-19 in Yeungnam University Medical Center in Daegu, Korea, March 3, 2020. ReutersThe South Korean government is preparing to designate Daegu and nearby North Gyeongsang Province, hard hit by massive coronavirus infections, as "special disaster zones" in a bid to facilitate emergency relief and administrative and financial support, according to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday."Procedures are under way in relation to the declaration" of Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and the province as special diaster zones," he said at an interagency meeting on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic that was held in the city.Chung said he would soon make a formal suggestion to President Moon Jae-in for the declaration.Nearly 6,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed in Daegu, a city with 2.4 million residents, as of Thursday, with more than 1,100 patients reported in the province with a population of 2.7 million. (Yonhap)

Mar 13, 2020
Gov't preparing to declare virus-stricken Daegu a special disaster zone: PM

Online classes, video meetings: Can coronavirus spur low-carbon habits?

Chrissy Brackett and grandson Caidence Miller, a 4th grader at Cottage Lake Elementary, struggle to navigate the online learning system the Northshore School District will use for two weeks due to coronavirus concerns, at Brackett's home in Woodinville, Washington, March 11. / Reuters-YonhapLONDON, March 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As coronavirus sweeps the Seattle area, with more than 20 deaths so far in one of the worst outbreaks in the United States, the University of Washington this week shuttered its classrooms in a bid to contain the spread of the disease.But lecturer Ian Schnee's philosophy class for 300 students took place as scheduled on Monday - just online. Eighty tuned in live, with more expected to watch the recording later.Schnee's other teaching also happened virtually, with 20 students joining a video-streaming chatroom to share answers to logic problems and ask questions before upcoming exams."I could share my desktop and other students could share theirs", the same as with the office whiteboard, he said. "Doing it virtually was a pretty rich experiment."Recent

Mar 12, 2020
Online classes, video meetings: Can coronavirus spur low-carbon habits?

Gov't complex partially shut after officials contract coronavirus

A notice informs people that a cafeteria in the building housing the oceans and fisheries ministry at the Government Complex in Sejong, is temporarily closed so the interior can be disinfected, Thursday. The closure comes after 16 civil servants at the complex tested positive for COVID-19. /YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe Government Complex in Sejong was thrown into panic Thursday after 14 more civil servants tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising concerns over an increasing administrative vacuum.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) and the Ministry of Interior and Safety, 13 new COVID-19 cases were reported at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries located in the main government building in the administrative city of Sejong. One more worker at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs was confirmed to have contracted the virus, raising the number of cases at the complex to 31. Concerns are growing over a possible infection cluster at government buildings as this could significantly disrupt administrative operations. The Sejong Government

Mar 12, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Gov't complex partially shut after officials contract coronavirus

Workers at crowded offices fear mass infections

People wearing face masks walk up and down the stairs at Sindorim Station in Seoul, Thursday, amid growing concerns over potential mass transmission of COVID-19 following a cluster infection at a call center near the station. YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeLee Sang-min, 34, who is employed at an office in Gasan, southwestern Seoul, used to take the subway to go to and from work every day. But he began using his car to commute Thursday, after Seoul's biggest-yet cluster of COVID-19 infections occurred at an insurance company's call center in the Guro District, near his office.Driving to work takes twice as long than using the subway due to bad traffic during rush hour, but he decided to endure such inconvenience as concerns here are growing over possible mass transmissions in the metropolitan area.“I have to wake up an hour earlier than usual because driving to work takes longer, but it was an inevitable choice as I was worried that confirmed patients from the call center may have used the subway I take,” Lee said. “My wife wants me to work from home, but I cannot do that becaus

Mar 12, 2020
Workers at crowded offices fear mass infections

Rural Korea hit by exodus of foreign workers

Undocumented foreigners line up to make voluntary departure reports at the Seoul Immigration Office located in Yangcheon District, southwestern Seoul on March 6. / Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongThe worsening coronavirus epidemic here is hitting rural areas hard as a growing number of foreign workers, who have become the backbone of Korea's agriculture and fisheries industries, are returning to their home countries.According to the Ministry of Justice, Thursday, the number of migrant workers, including those overstaying their visas, leaving Korea has been increasing since the highly-contagious virus wreaked havoc on Asia's fourth-largest economy a month ago.The ministry said 5,000 undocumented foreigners left Korea in the last week of February alone ― the week the number of the coronavirus patients skyrocketed due to the spread among Shincheonji Church of Jesus followers. Between December and that time, the number was around 1,000 per week. The number of departing legal immi

Mar 12, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Rural Korea hit by exodus of foreign workers
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